TOPAZ HORIZON

TV commercials these days are just crap. They're mostly inane and stupid and just assume the viewer is just as stupid and inane. Remember when it was actually a joy to sit for the commercial breaks? These days, I use those breaks to surf other channels, go to the loo, check the ref for food, or write Colonix reviews in my new beauty blog.

There are a few good ones that I do enjoy. Like this one from Close Up:


And this one from Sony Bravia three years ago:


And the "First Time, First Love" commercial of Coke! So '80s! (Yes, I was born in the '70s so I have a pretty good memory of this ad):


The '80s were the golden age for Coke ads but my favorite was the Pepsi commercial starring Fred Savage where he was writing a love letter to a girl and he was inspired by the drink, prompting the girl to realize, "I feel like... a Pepsi." So sad I can't find it on YouTube!

But the ad I truly truly love is this vintage Apple TVC that my husband tells me brings back memories of another age.


We feel every word because Vince and I have always been the misfits, the rebels and troublemakers that people never really understood. I know my parents always worried about me, afraid I'd end up dead because I always stirred up trouble but, hey, I turned out okay! The funny thing is, as media people, Vince and I are both in positions where we can actually mold the minds of our readers. It's crazy that we are where we are. We have dangerous thoughts and someone is actually paying us to spread them!

By the way, I found this vid through the utterly wonderful poet Susannah-Cole. She inspires me with her words and her images, and we are both "secret keepers of hope," believers in moving the world forward one blog post at a time.

I know I said I didn't like Twilight the movie but after seeing this video, I'm willing to watch New Moon. Oh my, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart are so hot! Did they paint on Kristen's clothes? And Rob's abs--are they for real??? And that kiss! I literally felt my cheeks go warm when I saw these stills!

SPOILER ALERT! If you want the movie to be a surprise, do not watch!


Swoon! Now let me look for my own vampire and beg for a bite...

I know this news is a week late but Chuck is back for a third season! After all the emails and petitions of fans, the beloved spy comedy romance is returning to our TV screens on March 2010. I am so happy! Thanks, NBC!

2010 is many months away so I'm glad I still have The Tudors to keep me riveted. This is one of the best shows ever! It's history, politics, sex, scandal, religion, lavish excess, intrigue, style, love and passion all rolled into one! Right now, King Henry is disenchanted with his new wife, Anne of Cleves. Anne is played by Joss Stone and she's actually good--who knew that singer can be a good actress, too?

Showtime really has fantastic shows; aside from The Tudors, they also have Dexter--the serial murderer series. I love this one! It's funny, dark and bloody, and just chilling! I love the marketing promo, too (see above)--very clever, very sophisticated, very Dexter. The fourth season is set to debut this fall in the US so I have that to watch when The Tudors is done. I think I mentioned this somewhere in my blog before but I must confess that of all the fictional characters I've ever met (in a book, a story, a movie, etc), I relate to Dexter Morgan the most. Now that's something that scares even me...

Fringe is another show I love. It's all about the supernatural and mysterious, kinda like The X-Files but I kinda like Fringe better. I adore Olivia Dunham so much I want to name my daughter after her character! The no-nonsense Olivia is played by Aussie actress Anna Torv--that's her floating up there. She is unconventionally beautiful and she gets lovelier with each episode. The first season just ended and there's no word from Fox yet when the second season will be but I'm happy to note that there will most definitely be a new season!

Well, judging from the shows I watch, you can tell I'm not a fan of the silly, fluffy and frivolous. Yeah, I like my entertainment raw, strange, mind-boggling, bizarre, even frightening. Then the delightful Chuck (and the sadly discontinued Pushing Daisies) happened and I have never been more in love with such a sunny, happy character! And despite Chuck's sunniness, the show ain't dumb and silly at all!

My blogger friends Zemirah, Sippinslow and JenAspacio have alerted me to what is possibly the most wonderful news this summer! The Great Book Blockade, which levied taxes and other duties on imported books, is now over!

Just this morning, newspapers happily reported that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered the Department of Finance to immediately lift "the customs duty on book importation," Press secretary Serge Remonde said. “The President wants books to be within reach of the common man. She believes reading as an important value for intellectual formation, which is the foundation of a healthy public opinion necessary for a vibrant democracy,” he added.

Well, thank you very much, Madame President! And thank you, too, to Robin Hemley, who made us all aware of this distressing fact (and who mentioned my post about this issue on his blog. Yey!).

Thank you to all the Filipinos who stormed the government with their protests, done intelligently, I'd like to add.

Thanks to the media for giving this issue proper attention.

And thank you to the international communities led by UNESCO who helped trash this law in such a short time!

For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV

Democracy is well and alive in the Philippines. I now know this and my heart lifts with fierce pride and glorious hope! We didn't even need to stage rallies and violent protests. No one died, no blood was shed. The strength of bloggers amazes me. I didn't know we were this influential! As Oasis sang, "I'll start a revolution from my bed." We started it and now we won. What else can we achieve?

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!


Read my blog post on the issue here.
Read more about the developments, as reported by Robin Hemley, here.

Nope, the fat wabbit's not me! Anyway, a few days ago, L'Oreal Professionel launched its wonderful new line, the Nature Serie, at the elegant M Cafe just across the Ayala Museum (see above). I wore my utterly fab eBay find--my BGBG Max Azria sequined LBD with my sequined black flats and Gucci shoppers tote.

The bags behind me are the giveaways--filled with shampoos, conditioners, masks and other lovely hair stuff that's so organic and gentle, you can use them on your kids!

In keeping with the nature theme, the event featured organic produce which we guests can take home. It was such a delight to shop for fresh veggies! But while the other guests were thinking of salads, I was thinking of my bunny wabbits, Galadriel and Matilda (pictured below in our kitchen).Obviously, the bunnies were ecstatic with what Mommy brought home. Mommy was more ecstatic with the delightful products--each guest brought home a huge tote bag filled with the entire line!
So so happy! I'll be doing a more thorough review of the products in Beauty For A Living, where everything from makeup and lotions to strange treatments and diet pill liporexall reviews are featured! Watch for it within a week, okidoki!

Dear Lana, Sonny, Joanna, Elaine, Nikki, Kabbie, Jay and Astro Girl,

OK! magazine was one of the best performing titles in 2008. We exceeded all our targets except for circulation which has slightly dipped due to, I am sure, the global economic crisis. However, congratulations are in order, and I want to thank each and everyone of you for helping OK! be what it is today.
I also want to thank you for many other things that aren't tangible or measurable.

Thank you for your hard work despite the not-so-fabulous pay.

Thank you for coming in to work even on days you don't have to, for staying late, for keeping company those who have to stay late just to offer moral support--unlike other staff who, even when their editor-in-chief is looking for them, refuse to come to work.

Thank you for never missing your deadlines and for not sacrificing the quality of your work just so we can meet those deadlines. This tells me you are all dedicated, passionate, considerate, and proud of your own talents and abilities without having an ego about it--unlike some staff who think they're so good the entire magazine can wait for their work, thus delaying everything.

On that note, thank you for your passion. Your meticulous attention to detail--whether in spelling, grammar, fact-checking, layout, price points, budget, the perfect picture!--convinces me that I work with the very best people an editor can ever dream of--unlike some magazines who are plagued with lazy, stubborn and egotistical idiots. Sometimes when I can't summon the energy to go to work, I just remember how conscientious you all are and I am inspired.

Most of all, I want to thank you for your loyalty to me. I know I am not the easiest person to work with--my temper and my demands can't be wonderful. And yet you give me your best and you never squeal--unlike some sissies who always run to HR just because an editor called them a name and can't face and resolve conflict within the staff instead. I never hear any reports of backbiting from you guys; in fact, I know without a doubt you have my back. Thank you for your respect, even if I know sometimes I don't deserve it.

It isn't easy to lead, especially in these troubled economic times when much is demanded from me by my own superiors and then I am given less to work with. But because I have you, your passion and your unflinching loyalty, this job is a piece of cake. Thank you.


Live long and prosper, my friends.

As in literally hot, the sun burned my cheeks and shoulders. That was minimal sun exposure--I didn't even swim or sunbathe. Vince was smarter than me--he just stayed indoors all weekend long.

The night before we left, I typed my Facebook status as: "Going to Batangas and praying for clouds." Lizelle, my sister-in-law, got perplexed and said that all the kids were praying for the sun. Well, God listens to the prayers of little children because in San Juan, the sun unleashed all its blazing glory.

Yes, we're strange that way; we're not fond of the sun at all. But when we see clouds on the horizon, our spirits lift. And when it thunders and pours, Vince and I are the happiest creatures. The harder the rain, the darker the sky, the more ecstatic we get. That's why we love the rainy summer this year and that's why we chose gray London for our honeymoon!

The rest of the Sales family, however, are sun babies. They stayed in the pool the entire weekend! They were all a dark shade of brown by the time we went home.


Nevertheless, despite the unforgiving sun, it was a fun weekend. The kids were so excited... and that's an understatement of epic proportions! Acuatico is indeed a lovely place and I'd love to go back there... in the rainy season!

I love this Kate Torralba dress. It's a backless halter with deep pockets hidden in each side of the tulip skirt. It's a housewife dress--sexy, comfy. My husband definitely agrees with the sexy part!

Anyway, my favorite part of the dress is the print. I call it the Stepford Wife dress because look at the pictures!And though you may find it ironic that a career woman like me loves a dress like this, you'll be more surprised to learn that I can cook, wash, iron, mend, sew, polish, scrub, and do a lot of housewifely things very very well! After all, I was trained since I was 5 years old to be a wife (yep, my parents had but one ambition for me) so I can keep a house and manage a career, too. Stepford Wife!

Hi! This is me at the Kerastase party the other night (in my HerBench off-the-shoulder top and with the Longchamp tote given to me by Aida, my best friend in France). Goodness, I look more tired than a Georgia car insurance salesman selling policies in this global crisis! That's why I'm glad I'll be going out of town with my Sales family this weekend. I won't be able to update for a while so if you're dropping by, here are some random posts you can read till I come back...

• Attended the chi-chi launch of Kerastase Oleo-Relax Slim
• Wrote an article for Spot.ph re: celebs and plastic surgery
• Interviewed NARS Makeup Artist Dawn Stultz
• Campaigned against taxation on books!
• Found secret Facebook photos
• Had my home featured in a magazine
  
• Got nice things from Mama's old things
• Fell in love with my husband all over again
  
• Went to Hong Kong Disneyland!
• Honeymooned in London
• Discovered the secret to true and enduring love (it's in the Bible!)

Okay, that should keep you busy! I'll be back soonest with photos from Acuatico... and with a fantastic blog contest! Why? Well, the contest for my new blog, Beauty for a Living, did so well, it now gets more traffic than this one. It's insane and so now I feel bad for Topaz Horizon. Besides, this month is this blog's 3rd birthday. Golly, I've been blogging for 3 years! More, actually, since I started with a blog on Friendster. Anyway, see you all next week!

It's Mariel's fault. She blogged about these classic flats last week so I bugged her to go shopping because I just had to have one. Turns out I had to have two! At just PHP 799 (USD 17) a pair, why stop at just one? Run to the nearest CMG shop because these babies come in 4 kinds (gold, silver, pewter and bronze--the last two colors are the ones I got!). They come in matching pouches, which really add to the adorable factor.

I also bought these flats from Schu. The big gold design did it for me. It also comes in black and white. I'm still deciding if I should get the black even though I already have 3 black flats--the sequined ones, jelly ones and my pompom ones.

Argh, shoes are my undoing really. Accessories, too. I found these bangles in a tiangge (cheap shop stalls) and I bought 10 pieces, each a different design. I couldn't resist! The bangles are perfect when I'm wearing my usual tee-and-jeans combo (left) but they also look great with my simple sheath dresses. Sigh... With all the shopping Vince and I have done (the house, the gadgets, etc), I guess we could've gone on that Disney cruise already! Well, maybe not the cruise yet, but definitely a trip somewhere!

Speaking of trips, we will be gone all weekend! Vince and I and his family are all going to Batangas, to an exquisite resort called Acuatica. Will come back with photos, and I do hope it won't rain!

I know we seem to be shopping a lot lately but remember we did sell our truck a couple of months back. Even though it was a good energy-efficient pick-up truck with cheap car insurance, we decided to let it go since we walk to work anyway. Besides, with the global credit crunch, let us shop (wisely!) so that the ailing economy will recover!
So a few weeks ago, I saw these exquisite Chinese porcelain garden stools in Dimensione High Street. I promptly fell in love with them. Now, I live in an apartment with no gardens whatsoever so I didn't buy any. But I kept thinking of them so Vince and I finally went back last week. Vince kinda balked at the price but even then he told me to get a pair since one stool would look lonely. I said, "Nah, let's just get one. We just bought two overpriced chairs."


So we looked over all of the pretty porcelain stools. I couldn't decide between the yellow and the pink. Vince said, "I think we should get the yellow one. And I really still think you should get a pair." After much agony from me and much exasperated impatience from Vince, I finally decided to get the blue one with pink flowers. Here it is at home...

Hmmm. Methinks I should've gotten the yellow one. And Vince is (again!) right--one stool, no matter how pretty, looks terribly lonely. Well, I'll just go get the yellow one then! (Although I quite like the pink one, too...)